23rd
LIVE MUSIC: Norman, Okla., Saturday Night @ Othello's
This is your official, last-minute invitation: Come see me play Saturday night (Jan. 24) at Othello’s in Norman. I’ll start between 6:30 and 7 p.m. and play until 5 in the morning non-stop.
Kidding.
But I will be gigging at Othello’s on Campus Corner until about 10 or 10:30. For the first hour, hour and a half, I play instrumentals mostly — jazz standards, pop hits, a couple originals.
And, then I break out the piano bar act.
Admittedly, I shy away from most Piano Bar 101 material except for some Billy Joel and Elton John. Unlike a lot of “piano bar” acts, I try to work in 10-12 original songs, including my hit single, “Dirty Pierre.”
OK, so it’s not actually a hit.
I checked Look @ OKC and the Oklahoma Gazette to see if my gig was even listed, and it wasn’t. (Boo!) However, it’s not like I’m some household name in the OKC area. I’m not even a household name in my neighborhood.
In fact, besides leaving Othello’s full of great food and drink on Saturday night, you’re likely to leave not asking, “Why has this guy not been signed by a major label?” but instead asking yourself, “How is this guy not in a mental ward?”
Among the songs I plan to include on Saturday are:
- Lithium - Nirvana
- Blister in the Sun - Violent Femmes
- Private Dancer - Tina Turner
- Fame - Irene Cara
Not that those are bad songs, but I’m betting you won’t hear that combination anywhere on Earth Saturday night.
When I first recommitted to gigging, I found myself conflicted by two schools of thought: Either I could go the singer-songwriter route and take myself all seriously, or I could just have a good time.
I’ve opted for the latter.
Part of that means doing whatever is necessary to ensure folks have a good time when they come to see me play. No, that does not mean I’ll play shirtless. There is food involved, and nausea is not fun. Seeing my man-boobies bounce while I play would only serve to sicken the masses.
On the other hand, I do take requests, but I do have to warn you: I have no shame.
If I know it, and you ask for it: I’ll play it. I’ll sing it. My only rule is that if you ask me to play anything by the Commodores that you protect me from the fruit and vegetables that get thrown my way by Toad, who will be making an appearance. You’ll know who my buddy is when the red pears start flying.
He believes Lionel Richie is, in fact, the devil.
Now, gigging is nothing new for me, but I’d never even attempted solo performance until last year. When I played with bands in Dallas, I wouldn’t even sing backup; that’s how self-conscience I was.
The first couple of times I gigged solo, I’d dread “gig day” because I’d be a nervous wreck, hoping I wouldn’t forget a song in the middle of it.
Now, I’ll just start the heck over.
See, no shame. I have none.
If you don’t know where Othello’s in Norman is, it’s just north of Brothers on Buchanan Avenue on historic Campus Corner, just north of the beautiful University of Oklahoma campus.
And if you’re nowhere near here, get out and see somebody play this weekend, I guarantee you’ll make their day.
